Mechanically robust and self-healable perovskite solar cells
Blake P. Finkenauer, Yao Gao, Xiaokang Wang, Yue Tian, Zitang Wei, Chenhui Zhu, David J. Rokke, Linrui Jin, Lei Meng, Yang Yang, Libai Huang, Kejie Zhao, Letian Dou
Abstract
Skin-like self-healing electronics have been pursued for decades with limited success. The trade off between excellent electronic properties and suitable rheological properties do not allow high-performance inorganic semiconductor materials to be self-healable. Here, we report a mechanically self-healable hybrid halide perovskite semiconductor. A molecularly tailored self-healing polymer is incorporated into a polycrystalline perovskite thin film to form a composite with a bi-continuous interpenetrating network. This composite heals using synergistic grain growth and solid diffusion processes at slightly elevated temperatures. Mechanically robust and self-healable perovskite solar cells are fabricated with power conversion efficiencies over 10% and excellent stability. The healable composite is presented in flexible devices retaining 94% of their power conversion efficiency after 3,000 bending cycles and 80% performance recovery after extreme bending. These results foreshadow the use of polymer-perovskite hybrid materials for ultra-flexible and wearable energy-harvesting devices and demonstrate the effectiveness of marrying dissimilar materials to achieve unique functionalities.